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24 Famous Globe-Trotters on the Hotels They Love Most

Filmmakers, architects, designers, novelists and other demanding jet-setters share their favorite hotels, from Montana to the French Riviera

CRAZY FOR YOU Pictured inside the locket: the Grand-Hotel du Cap-Ferrat, now a Four Seasons, on the French Riviera, dubbed the ‘honeymoon hotel of the century,’ by one of its many admirers. Locket, $5,350, monicarichkosann.com
Photo:
F. Martin Ramin/The Wall Street Journal

BLANCHE DUBOIS may have relied on the kindness of strangers, but I don’t have enough vacation days to leave anything to chance. So a few times a year I pay more than I can afford for a faithful facsimile of affection at a hotel. Sometimes, but rarely, the experience transcends mere hospitality and I fall in love. I can count on one hand the hotels that wormed their way into my heart soon after I first arrived and began calling me back not long after I’d left. When that happens, I do the only thing that makes sense: I return again and again.

I have repaired several times to the jasmine-perfumed halls of Bangkok’s Mandarin Oriental hotel, where a butler named Rain once ensured I was dressed for the weather whenever I stepped from my room. And to Ireland’s Park Hotel Kenmare, where the flickering hearths cut County Kerry’s damp well into May and stepping into the lobby’s carefully curated confusion of antique furnishings always feels like a long-overdue embrace.

I’m not alone. Deborah DeMaria, a director of sales at Douglas Elliman, in New York, has stayed at the Hotel Villa Brunella on Capri at least a dozen times since she first visited with her family 18 years ago. “I don’t usually go back to places, because there are too many parts of the world I still want to see,” Ms. DeMaria said. “But there is no other hotel like it. The views of the Mediterranean are stunning, and there are always beautiful fresh flowers in the room. My daughter has had 12 birthdays there and the owner’s wife has always baked her a special cake for the occasion. We’re all attached to it. It is familiar. It is like home.”

Hotel Villa Brunella on Capri.

Of course, the hotels we fall in love with are nothing like home, really, unless you’re a princess or a pasha or someone who has actually lived in a hotel, like the late Elaine Stritch, who might be finding heaven something of a letdown after having taken up residence at both London’s Savoy and New York’s Carlyle. What home delivers toast arranged on fine linen under a silver dome, or jams in jars imported from Lilliput? How many homes have pressed sheets, or towels and robes as soft and white and warm as eiderdown? Any good hotel can make you feel cared for, but the ones we truly fall for not only create the illusion that nothing untoward—no danger, no sadness, none of the manifold fears that bedevil us daily—could ever breach their walls, they’re actually a setting for the delightfully unpredictable.

“My husband, children and I have been going to Sandy Lane in Barbados for years,” said New York cardiologist Holly Andersen, who recently returned from a weeklong stay in March. “Nothing else quite measures up.” Dr. Andersen says she likes the easy proximity of the hotel’s seaside Green Monkey golf course and appreciates the familiarity of having the same caddies and seeing the same families year after year. But, she says, something beyond the sum of the parts keeps her going back. “This year, we were all in the outdoor common area listening to a group of musicians when my 18-year-old son stood up and asked me to dance. It was a completely unexpected moment. I know it would never have happened anywhere else.”

Windsor Suite at the Ritz Paris

Kelly Wearstler

Interior designer

Long-term hotel love: The Ritz Paris. The hotel’s history, luxurious attention to detail and impeccable service truly impart such a sense of place. And the staff is super friendly and makes you feel like this legendary hotel is your own personal European pied-à-terre. I love the Bar Hemingway; you feel enveloped by the creative spirit of the artists of the past who made it their home. ritzparis.com

Unforgettable fling: It’s not exactly a hotel, but my family and I took a luxury sea voyage a couple of summers ago on the Alila Purnama in Indonesia. It is inspired by traditional phinisi-style trading ships. We sailed to Komodo Island with this incredible crew that provided everything you could ever want—amazing food and service, in-depth stories of the history, culture and surrounding nature. We had an onboard dive master and explored the waters scuba diving and surfing, all off the boat. alilahotels.com

Favorite childhood hotel: I grew up in South Carolina, and every year my family would go to the Fontainebleau Hotel in Miami. It was so grand and inspirational: the tall columns, the fountains, the cool floating staircase, the curvature of the original Morris Lapidus design—real old-school glamour. fontainebleau.com

Morocco’s Kasbah Tamadot

Renée Fleming

Soprano, currently appearing on Broadway in “Carousel”

Long-term hotel love: The Four Seasons Hotel in Chicago. It has breathtaking views of Lake Michigan and the city, and the hotel itself is full of beautiful, surprising artworks. fourseasons.com

Unforgettable fling: Kasbah Tamadot, Richard Branson’s resort in Morocco. It’s a paradise, really, an oasis in the Atlas Mountains with stunning scenery, a spa, cooking classes and amazing food. I really just unwound, but I did take a mule tour of the countryside and Berber villages, which was lovely, especially when our guide invited us into his home for tea. virginlimitededition.com/en/kasbah-tamadot

Favorite childhood hotel: When I was about 9, my grandparents took me to Philadelphia, and we stayed at the Warwick Hotel. It was my first experience of a grand old hotel, and I was awed. I remember the marble, the chandeliers, even the tiles in the bathroom. That hotel and the Liberty Bell were Philadelphia to me for about the next 20 years. warwickrittenhouse.com

New York’s Maritime Hotel
Photo:
Annie Schlechter

Lily Tomlin

Lily Tomlin, actress, currently appearing in the Netflix series “Grace & Frankie,” and performing in L.A. on April 27 at the comedy fundraiser “Wait Wait Don’t Kill Me,” benefiting the Voice For The Animals Foundation.

Long-term hotel love: In the old days—this was 40 years ago—I had favorite uptown and downtown hotels in New York. Uptown, I was crazy about both the Sherry-Netherland and The Plaza. And downtown I loved the Chelsea. Totally disparate vibes. The interesting part about the Chelsea [slated to reopen in 2019] is you’d lock the door when you went to bed at night, but no matter what room you stayed in, you’d wake up in the morning and your door would be ajar! I don’t know if it was thieves or just…interested folks. theplazany.com, sherrynetherland.com

Unforgettable fling: There’s another New York hotel I stayed in while I was shooting [the TV series] “Damages.” It was in the old Covenant House and it looks like a ship. What is that called, dammit? Maritime! They had a great Japanese restaurant downstairs, and small rooms. themaritimehotel.com

Favorite childhood hotel: My mother and father were born in Kentucky, and I was born in Detroit. So we would drive to Kentucky every summer or so. My father always believed in “no stops allowed.” He would try to drive straight through. So we never stayed at a motel. That would be just the height of luxury.

Claridge’s in London

Paul Feig

Long-term hotel love: I love Claridge’s [in London]. It’s everything I want the world to be. The black-and-white tile when you walk in; the tea room; the beautiful deco Fumoir bar, Claridge’s Bar. I always dress up in suit and tie and when I walk down the master staircase into the lobby I feel like Scarlet O’Hara. It’s my entry into London life, which I love so much. claridges.co.uk

Unforgettable fling: When we made the movie “Spy” we stayed at the Four Seasons Gresham Palace in Budapest. It’s gorgeous, art nouveau. My wife and I stayed in a corner suite—our living room looked over the Chain Bridge and the Danube. They let us roll a big camera crane into the lobby, which was pretty amazing because it’s all inlaid tile. It’s the best-run hotel I’ve ever been in. fourseasons.com

Favorite childhood hotel: We used to drive from Michigan to Florida to visit my grandmother in the winter and we’d stop in Louisville, Ky., at what I think was a Holiday Inn. Half the hotel was this big glass terrarium, tropical inside, with an enormous pool and all these trees and a play area. I thought it was the most glamorous thing I’d ever seen in my life.

Shambhala Suite at COMO Shambhala Estate in Bali

Donna Karan

Long-term hotel love: Every room at COMO Shambhala Estate is unique, and the décor and nature outside provide a tranquil environment. Beyond the aesthetic, COMO Shambhala embodies holistic wellness, combining spirituality and inspiration through activities, different Eastern therapies and its food. It was the inspiration for what I do today at Urban Zen.” comohotels.com

Unforgettable fling: Nihi Sumba, also in Indonesia. It offers exquisite views of the Indian Ocean, yoga at dawn, sleek and modern wood décor paired with crisp white linens. And it gives back to the local community through projects such as clean water, medical clinics and lunches for school children. nihi.com

Favorite childhood hotel: The Concord Resort Hotel in the Catskills. I have so many memories there. It was where I honeymooned with my first husband, Mark Karan. When we arrived, they were holding a beauty pageant at the pool and the winner got a free room. Mark entered me….We had to pay for our room. [The hotel closed in 1998].

Cheval Blanc in St. Barth’s

Rob Marshall

Long-term hotel love: It used to be called Isle de France, now it’s Cheval Blanc in St. Barth’s. It’s an intimate hotel right on the beach—pure heaven. You open the door and you’re on the sand. We just dream about it until we get to go back. It is the screen saver on my phone. chevalblanc.com, the hotel is currently closed for hurricane repairs and slated to reopen in the fall.

Unforgettable fling: The Hotel du Cap-Eden-Roc on the French Riviera. My partner John DeLuca and I were screening “Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides” at the Cannes Film Festival and Johnny Depp warned us that the French sometimes “boo”—so we were prepared. To our surprise and delight, the film received a standing ovation. That night we went back to the Hotel du Cap with Johnny, Penélope [Cruz] and others from the film to celebrate at the hotel’s Bellini Bar. We sat on the terrace until dawn and watched the sun come up over the Riviera. We’ve never been back, but I’ll never forget it. oetkercollection.com

Favorite childhood hotel: The Plaza in New York. My family couldn’t afford to stay there but I loved walking into the lobby and seeing all the chic guests and the famous Palm Court. For me, this was the hotel where Eloise lived, and it was easy to imagine Eloise with her turtle and pug running down the hallway causing havoc! theplazanyc.com

Covent Garden Hotel in London

Kelli O’Hara

Singer and actress, performing in ”The King and I“ in London’s West End this summer

Long-term hotel love: I love the Carlyle Hotel in New York City. I worked a temp job in the booking office there during my first week of living in New York after college. I had never seen a place like that. Cut to a decade later, I’m staying in one of the suites with my newborn baby and husband, playing the Cafe Carlyle at night and taking walks in Central Park during the day. Also, the guest-room walls were, as the song goes, “a bright canary yellow” and made me “forget every cloud I’ve ever seen.” At least for a bit. rosewoodhotels.com

Unforgettable fling: My husband Greg and I went to London last fall for our anniversary and stayed at the Covent Garden Hotel. It had such gorgeous rooms, a wonderful cafe and a common room with fireplaces. One night, after a long day out, we found ourselves sitting by the fire, having a drink, eating ice cream and playing Scrabble. It felt like home…a fancy home. firmdalehotels.com

Favorite childhood hotel: The Meridian Plaza in Oklahoma City, Okla. It had a big indoor area with putt-putt golf and a swimming pool. That was all I needed.

Hotel Plaza Athénée, Paris

John Sayles

Writer/director of, among other films, “Lone Star” and “Passion Fish”; currently working on his next western, “I Passed Away”

Long-term hotel love: The Imperial Hotel in Tokyo. And that’s not ‘cause it’s the greatest hotel in the world, it’s just the experiences that I’ve had there. The first time I stayed there, I had written a movie for John Frankenheimer, and the Japanese movie star Toshiro Mifune was in it. I had to go over to Japan and do some rewrites. Here’s how long ago this was: I realized my typewriter ribbon was shot. I went down to the lobby…it was a Sunday, and nobody could find a typewriter ribbon for an old-fashioned non-electric typewriter. But there were some Japanese Airlines employees, these two young women, sitting at the same desk as the check-in, with these two IBM Selectric typewriters in front of them. So I just went up and said “For Toshiro Mifune!” and took one away. They just smiled and bowed—they thought that was great—and I brought it back when I had to leave the country. imperialhotel.co.jp/e/tokyo

Unforgettable fling: I only stayed once at the Plaza Athénée in Paris, not too far from the Eiffel Tower, in 1980 or something. I was writing a movie for Steven Spielberg that he was producing. He was in Tunisia shooting “Raiders of the Lost Ark,” and the director was working on “Conan the Barbarian” in Spain, and I was in Hoboken. So of course, to have a meeting, the logical place was Paris! The Athénée is such a classy place. Very fancy doormen, beautiful old bar, definitely an expense-acc